Dark Redemption/Dark Sins (Dark Intentions 2 & 3) by Charlotte Byrd-reviews

DARK REDEMPTION
(Dark Intentions 2)
by Charlotte Byrd
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, romantic suspense

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ABOUT THE BOOK : Release Date July 5, 2021.

He saved my mother’s life. Now, I owe him a debt. But I don’t even know who he is.

Dante Langston is man of extreme wealth and privilege and just as much darkness.
Our time together was supposed to be a one night stand.
No names. No phone numbers. No other way to get in touch.
But I keep going back to look for him.
What I don’t yet know is that he already knows me.
He has been watching and waiting. He needs to stay away to protect his secrets but he can’t.
Neither can I.
I’m addicted to his lips and his touch. He’s addicted to our shared pain.
What happens when I find out the debt I owe is to him?
What happens when I find out the other secrets that he is much more desperate to keep?

••••••••

REVIEW: DARK REDEMPTION is the second instalment in Charlotte Byrd’s contemporary adult DARK INTENTIONS erotic, romantic suspense trilogy. This is the continuing story of businessman Dante Langston, and receptionist/ journalism major Jacqueline Archer’s story line. DARK REDEMPTION should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one DARK INTENTIONS.

NOTE: If you have not read book one, there may be spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: Jacqueline Archer’s mother needed a life saving procedure, and our heroine needed a quick influx of cash. On the recommendation of her best friend Allison, Jacqueline applies for an exclusive membership to the $ex club Redemption, where she will meet businessman Dante Langston. This is their story.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Jacqueline and Dante) DARK REDEMPTION picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one wherein Dante has gone behind our heroine’s back, and in doing so, angered Jacqueline such that neither one spoke to one another in several months. A chance meeting on the beach in the Hampton’s finds Dante and Jacqueline rekindling their relationship, a relationship that is about to take a different turn. Dante is struggling with a recent account, and Jacqueline may be the perfect foil to uncover the who and what of the man in charge. What ensues is the rebuilding romance and relationship between Jacqueline and Dante, and the potential fall-out as Dante’s past refuses to remain buried and gone.

Meanwhile, Dante’s brother Lincoln’s wife is pregnant but her husband is all but an absentee spouse. Secrets will reveal that all is not well between Lincoln and Marguerite, and in this, Dante and Jacqueline find themselves caught in the middle of a potential minefield of secrets and lies.

The relationship between Dante and Jacqueline begins acrimoniously as neither one is ready to forgive and forget. Jacqueline is upset that Dante has gone behind her back even though his intentions helped and did no physical harm. Dante’s actions have placed our hero in a precarious position, not with with Jacqueline, but with his dysfunctional family, who keep secrets buried from one another.

We are reintroduced to Dante’s brother Lincoln and his wife Marguerite, as well as their mother Adele, and Jacqueline’s best friend Allison.

DARK REDEMPTION follows several paths focusing on the back and forth, up and down relationship of our story line couple, but also on the relationships between Allison and Jacqueline, and Marguerite and Lincoln, Lincoln and Dante, everyone and Adele. The are a number of secrets, lies and betrayal that everyone continues to dance around, and it is only a matter of time before everything is revealed. The premise is engaging; the romance is tender ; the characters are struggling = DARK REDEMPTION ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Click HERE for Sandy’s review of book one DARK INTENTIONS

Copy supplied for review

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DARK SINS
(Dark Intentions 3)
by Charlotte Byrd
Genre: adult, contemporary, dark, romantic suspense

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / B&N / KOBO / Chapters Indigo / Google Play /

ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date August 2, 2021

When I saved her mother’s life, I didn’t do it with my own money. I took out a debt. Now I have to go back to my old life.

I have certain skills that people are willing to pay a lot of money for.
Everything has a price, and Jacqueline was worth it.
But what happens when I make mistakes? What happens when the debt I have to pay becomes too great and the darkness that envelops me becomes too much?

From bestselling author Charlotte Byrd comes an intense romance about debts, lies and secrets and the extent to which people go for love.

A letter arrives.
It was not an accident. It was murder.
But who did it? Why?
The cops think it’s a false lead. There’s no other evidence, but I have to do everything to find out the truth.
My brother’s death is no longer a tragedy to get over, but a wrong to put right. It becomes my obsession.
What happens when I start to uncover the lies?

••••••••••

REVIEW: DARK SINS is the third instalment in Charlotte Byrd’s contemporary, adult DARK INTENTIONS dark, romantic, suspense series. DARK SINS is the continuing story of businessman Dante Langston, and receptionist/ journalism major Jacqueline Archer’s story line. DARK SINS should not be read as a stand alone as it picks up immediately after the events and cliff hanger of book one DARK REDEMPTION

NOTE: If you have not read book one and two, there may be spoilers in my review.

SOME BACKGROUND: Jacqueline Archer’s mother needed a life saving procedure, and our heroine needed a quick influx of cash. On the recommendation of her best friend Allison, Jacqueline applies for an exclusive membership to the $ex club Redemption, where she will meet businessman Dante Langston. This is their story.

Told from dual first person perspectives (Dante and Jacqueline) following several paths, DARK SINS picks up immediately after the events of Dark Redemption wherein Jacqueline and Dante have reunited in the Hampton’s, and the demons from Dante’s past begin to make a reappearance but all is not well in Dante’s life, when his mother, brother and estranged father make demands that Dante struggles to commit. As Dante continues to battle with a questionable business account, Jacqueline offers to go ‘undercover’ in an effort to find information about the who, what and why. While in Seattle interviewing for the job, Jacqueline reconnects with an old flame that pushes Dante out of her life.

Meanwhile, an anonymous letter addressed to Jacqueline’s mother claims Jacqueline’s brother Michael’s death was no accident, and our heroine and mother are hoping for the police to reopen the investigation but secrets and lies are about to reveal more than anyone could have ever imagined.

DARK SINS is a revealing and haunting addition to the Dark Intentions series. Charlotte Byrd pulls the reader into a world of secrets and lies, betrayal and vengeance, power and control. The fast paced,character driven premise is gripping and intriguing; the characters are edgy but flawed. DARK SINS ends on a cliff hanger-you have been warned.

Copy supplied for review

Reviews by Sandy